Ahcehera's body healed faster than anyone had anticipated, thanks to a careful combination of Eros's relentless care and the unparalleled capabilities of Interstellar medicine, but her soul moved at a pace far slower.
The sterile white of the medical chamber, the soft hums of energy restorers, and the flickering lights from monitoring devices became the rhythm of her days.
She rarely spoke, and when she did, her voice was soft, hollow, carrying the weight of something that had been shattered too deeply to ever return to its original shape.
Her parents, King Dan and Queen Tereza, arrived on the third day after her partial recovery, sweeping into the medical ward like a gust of wind, their presence regal, commanding, worried, and desperate all at once.
Her mother took her hand while her father stood stiffly at the side, but Ahcehera had looked at them not as a daughter reaching out for comfort but as a warrior ready to return to her post.
